U.S. Dollar Retreats As GDP Growth Slows

(RTTNews) - The U.S. dollar pulled back against its major counterparts in the New York session on Wednesday, as a slowdown in GDP growth outweighed optimism about strong ADP data.

Data from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. economic growth unexpectedly slowed in the third quarter.

The Commerce Department said gross domestic product shot up by 2.8 percent in the third quarter after surging by 3.0 percent in the second quarter. Economists had expected another 3.0 percent jump.

However, a separate report released by payroll processor ADP showed private sector employment in the U.S. shot up much more than anticipated in October.

ADP said private sector employment surged by 233,000 jobs in October after jumping by an upwardly revised 159,000 jobs in September.

Economists had expected private sector employment to climb by 115,000 jobs compared to the addition of 143,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month.

The greenback fell to 9-day lows of 1.0866 against the euro and 1.3042 against the pound, from an early high of 1.0807 and a 6-day high of 1.2936, respectively. The currency is seen finding support around 1.10 against the euro and 1.32 against the pound.

The greenback was trading at 0.8661 against the franc and 153.07 against the yen, down from its early highs of 0.8694 and 153.48, respectively. The next possible support for the greenback is seen around 0.84 against the franc and 144.00 against the yen.

The greenback dropped to a 2-day low of 0.6595 against the aussie, reversing from an early 2-1/2-month high of 0.6536. The currency may challenge support around the 0.68 level.

The greenback eased to 1.3906 against the loonie, from an early 2-1/2-month high of 1.3940. If the currency falls further, it is likely to test support around the 1.36 region.

In contrast, the greenback held steady against the kiwi, after falling to a 5-day low of 0.6001 in the previous session. In the Asian session, the greenback climbed to a 2-1/2-month high of 0.5950 against the kiwi.